Beach beach galore

We’re slowly settling into some kind of a rhythm.  In the mornings we walk around town, look at the shops, or do grocery shopping.   Antibes has small streets that exude a different charm from Spain, just as picturesque but none of the grittiness that I had mentioned before – no graffiti, no pee – just that upscale, resort feeling with boutiques and cafes with colorful awnings.   I wonder where on the scale Nice and Cannes will fall, seeing as they are much larger cities.

In the afternoons, Marco works and I either read or nap.  Then we go to the beach.  So far we’ve gone to a different beach each day.  The first was la Gravette, the closest one to our apartment, reached through a tunnel at the base of the city walls.   It’s really a little cove, circled with small rocks that shield it from the rest of the ocean and making the water very calm to swim in.  The only thing I disliked was that the beach was very pebbly and not nice to walk upon, and even worse when you are wading into the water.

Today we took a little tram to the neighboring town, Juan le Pins.  The beaches there were much nicer; white, smooth sand and aqua water that was surprisingly warmer than la Gravette.  The difference was that much of the beach was claimed by restaurants, which allowed you to rent their private loungers by the hour.  The public parts of the beach were few and sparse, but at least they were there. 

Side note – we also finally tasted fresh French bread, hot from the oven.  Biting into that loaf was really heavenly – crunchy on the outside, and warm and soft on the inside.  Marco and I devoured about half of it before we even got home!!

Leaving Barca

The morning that we were to drive from Barcelona to Antibes, France was the morning which we failed to wake up with the alarm.  But other than a late start, everything was quite smooth aside from the GPS battery not charging properly in the car unless I held it at exactly the right angle, and really gusty winds as we skirted the Pyrenees (enough to sway the car in the lane if we went over 80mph).  But seeing that it is a cross country drive in a foreign land, I consider that very smooth sailing.    

France!!

Much of the drive was extremely picturesque, either tree covered mountains or vast stretches of Tuscany like farmland.   

     

We rented a manual car because an automatic would have cost double, so poor Marco had to do all the driving.  My lessons in Spain were definitely not enough for me to go out on the highway!  We broke up the 6 hour drive with two lovely stops, one at Narbonne, and the other at Aix-en-Provence.

Narbonne was charming, with a small river and a huge cathedral.  What I will remember most clearly though, are the softest, gooiest and most delicious pistachio macaroons that I have ever tasted.  They really were amazing.  (I have now tried macaroons in 3 different French cities and this was by far and away the best!)

Because it was a Sunday afternoon, most places were closed and we had quite a difficult time finding a café for lunch.  And no surprises that when it was found, the owners only spoke French.   I found making the switch from Spanish extremely difficult, as I tried desperately to call to mind the phrases that I had learned in high school.  But despite any halting progress I made, I repeatedly and reflexively said “Si, si” and “Muy bien” at every turn, and even threw in a few “gracias” for good measure at those poor French owners.  No doubt that’s exactly what they were expecting after looking at me.

When we went to Aix-en-Provence, I did a quick google search and decided that the calle Mirabeau is the must visit spot, as well as the famous café des garcons which was frequented by Cezanne and a host of other celebrities.  However, despite going around and around, we were quite unable to find it and settled instead for a little café on the corner of a nice square.  I ordered a delicious aperitif, my first taste of the wine in Provence, Marco had his usual beer, and we split an apricot jam crepe.   A lady came around with small platters of complimentary olives and other snacks, including some small hot-dogs in warm phyllo puff-pastry.   It just shows how skeptical of a tourist Spain has left me because I was absolutely convinced that they were going to charge us for them! 

We caught sight of a double rainbow when we left Aix-en-Provence!  My first ever sighting, but I wasn’t quite as excited as that guy on you-tube. (IF you look carefully, you can see a second, faint rainbow above the clearer one).

Beach 5 mins walk from our place

The best part of the day probably was our apartment in Antibes.  After the damp, musty, bare apartment in Barcelona, I was a little nervous at what we were going to have to put up with for 3 weeks in France.  However, a spacious one bedroom greeted me, with a truly fully stocked kitchen (including all the necessary ingredients), comfy sofa, dining table, a delicious looking patio with chairs and table, and automatic blinds that came down and blocked out every ray of light.  Can you believe that in Barcelona, we were not even provided with salt and pepper?  And every single thing in that kitchen was from Ikea, including a set of flimsy knives that barely cut vegetables.  Our next delight was the shower, which streamed powerful water and not the limp excuse that we’ve been experiencing lately.   When you are traveling, these small things make a very big difference! I can already see that this leg of our trip is going to be the best!!

More Gaudi

I think if I spent my entire trip just tracking down pieces of Gaudi's architecture across Barcelona, I would have had a great time.  He is such a genius that he really does transform an ordinary apartment into something from another world, a dragon from the outside and an underwater kingdom once you step into the threshold.

View from the center of the house,
which opened up to let in as much light as possible into each room

We were absolutely enchanted with Casa Batllo, which was exactly this apartment that Gaudi designed for a lucky businessman in Barcelona on one of the most desirable avenues at the time for the nuveau riche to flaunt their newly acquired wealth.  Gaudi threw himself so heart and soul into the project that he even designed the wallpaper, the furniture, and the space on the roof.

I hope some of these photos will go part of the way to capture the eccentric beauty of this strange and fantastical house:

Another Gaudi that we visited is definitely my favorite of his work, from the moment that I saw it on my last trip in 2009.  Parque Guell was designed for a one of Gaudi's wealthy friends and is located at one of the highest points in the city.  Gaudi actually moved on site and lived there for over 20 years while he oversaw the completion of the fabulous park.  What amazes me is how many structures and designs that you stumble upon as you make your way through the park - it's almost like unraveling secrets one after another.

The use of these blocks of stone was very characteristic
of his work in the park

As always, colorful mosaics showed up in nearly all his work

 

Try Try Again

Our trip in Barcelona can probably best be summed up with this title.  There were at least two destinations where we had to return at least 3 times before it was open.  One of them was the Plaza Espanya, where from the palace at the top of the stairs you can look down to an amazing fountain and from there down to one of the largest round-abouts and avenues of the city.  The view is pretty incredible, especially at night.

However, unfortunately (or I guess it could be fortunately if you liked cars a lot), there was an auto-show while we were there that chose to take place bang smack in the heart of all that was worth seeing in that plaza, and also completely blocking our entry to see the fountain.  We had to return twice before figuring out that they only allowed in tourists at 9pm to see the fountain show.  Luckily for us, our ride up to the mountains of Montserrat also gave us 7 free rides on the metro so we didn't spend a fortune in transporting ourselves from one closed monument to another.  [I will post some photos later]

The second spot is a bar called El Xampanyet.  It is on the same street as the Picasso museum, but for some strange reason, it closes at an ungodly early hour for a bar.  So the first three times that we went there, it was closed because it was a Monday, and then the latter two because we fancied a drink at 11pm.  Good grief.  And when it's closed, it becomes so dark and the entrance is already so small that we always miss it completely and wander around hopelessly looking for the thing that is right under our noses.  And to think that it's rated as one of Europe's best bars!  The reason I was dying to go so much was because it was where I went on my last trip 5 years ago with my friend Marina, who told me that it was one of her best kept secrets and not to leak it to anyone for fear that it would be over-run with tourists.  I guess tourists will sniff out Cava (a.k.a Spanish champagne) for only 1.20 euro even if it is a secret.  Eventually we did make it while it was open, and it was incredibly crowded with tourists - a marked difference from 5 years ago.  However, that glass of Cava remained just as good and refreshing, and only about 20 centimes pricier!

But because of our persistence with going to Xampanyet, we also ended up trying the tapas restaurant across the street that had been recommended to us, which we probably wouldn't have actually sought out on our-own after being so tired with taps.  The place is called Tapeo - and Marco and I found this to be the most delightful Tapas bar in all of Spain! Better than anything we had tried in Sevilla AND Madrid.  The Rabo de Toro (bull-tail) was so tender that it practically fell apart, and the foam of Catalan Creme (like a creme brulee) is the only food foam that Marco likes.  And the service was also impeccable, despite it being very busy.  The waitress actually listened (although I saw the shock in her eyes) when I said that I did not want any olive oil over the food and we did not want anything fried.  We liked it so much that we even went back the next day, and I even ate something fried for once!! Even that was delightful, and I haven't really gone for fried food for years.

So I guess all in all, that old adage does apply in Barcelona -- if you find something closed, do try try again!!